A Vertical Future

December 17, 1999|By MARC WEINROTH Douglas High and By HEIDI DE VRIES Atlantic High and By ANDRA PARRISH Western High and By DWIGHT ROACHE Douglas High and By ALEXIS MABE Wellington High

By MARC WEINROTH Douglas High

VERTICAL HORIZON: Everything You Want (RCA Records)

Sometimes the best albums are the ones nobody knows about. It's almost as if someone is trying to hide Vertical Horizon's major-label debut, and they're doing a pretty good job.

Not since Matchbox 20's 1996 debut has a band's first album been so promising yet so terribly underpublicized. It took more than six months after its release for Yourself or Someone Like You to finally gain recognition and give Matchbox 20 its first taste of commercial success. No, I'm not implying that Vertical Horizon should release five songs, have them severely overplayed, and suffer from overexposure like the band to which I've probably unfairly compared them. But perhaps the band ought to market at least one song, and fortunately, there's a bunch to choose from.

Vertical Horizon packs power hooks that appease any rock fan too embarrassed to admit a guilty pleasure in the Backstreet Boys' upbeat teen pop while spinning humble ballads into uplifting statements without the phony orchestration of the Goo Goo Dolls. The band's blend of pop/rock doesn't ignore the importance of a heavy guitar riff, but overall, we find a soothing, upbeat listen (much like Third Eye Blind) with unforgettable melodies that bounce in your head long after the music dies. Vertical Horizon doesn't make a new statement with Everything You Want. What the quartet from Washington, D.C., simply does is create the year's most hummable album.

The band's roots date back to the early '90s as an acoustic duo, Keith Kane and Matt Scannell. After three successful independent releases, the guys recruited two friends and "plugged in" for the first time. The acoustic framework is still dominant on You're a God and the title track, likely the catchiest pair of songs found back to back on any album all year. That's a powerful statement, but it's well-deserved.

Finding Me and You Say, both packed with percussion, are similar to the previous two tracks. That is, they excel behind harmonious, smooth choruses that could even make 'N Sync cringe with jealousy. If only the guys had boyish good looks and didn't play instruments -- then they'd be real chart-toppers.

Shackled, with Kane singing, starts with a simple acoustic background before transforming into a powerful rocker that couldn't have sounded better if Creed had performed it. The slower ballads are pulled off with grace, from Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning), a track with the same three-chord guitar base that Matchbox 20 used on hits such as Push and 3 a.m., to Miracle, a climactic downer that progresses behind its emotional transitions.

By the time you get halfway through the album, all the songs start sounding a little too much alike, all relying on up-tempo choruses, but the uniformity is forgivable if you can focus on the group's uninhibited energy and not take the album too seriously, recognizing that it's OK to smile and hum along with the melody. While this advice will no doubt pose a problem for critics who bashed the pop-rock explosion at the end of 1998, as well as for hard-rock fans fed up with anyone but Metallica or Limp Bizkit ruling the charts, the average listener will be surprised to find such a good band exists outside the complicated radio and MTV-exploited music world.

Santana and friends

By HEIDI DE VRIES Atlantic High

SANTANA: Supernatural (BMG)

Santana's newest album, Supernatural, is rather good and full of a rich, Latin beat. This is a band with tons of nostalgia, but the group keeps up with the times by integrating the sounds of such artists as Dave Matthews, Everlast, Rob Thomas, Lauryn Hill & Cee-lo, Mana, Eagle-Eye Cherry and Eric Clapton to make a very unique collection.

Everlast helped out on Put Your Lights On, which had a strange heavy metal-meets-paper shredder quality and a scary message: "There's a monster under my bed." Africa Bamba was better with a very interesting, strangely beautiful and easy to dance to percussion ensemble. This, sad Maria, and catchy Migra are the best tracks on here.

Santana's current hit, raspy Smooth, can't compete with the sweet lyrics of Maria. Unfortunately, Maria's simple tune is almost ruined by background voices demanding your attention. Migra commands your attention right away with a toe-tapping beat, strangely attractive guitar squeals, and lyrics that, though in Spanish, are easy to sing along with.

Then there is Do You Like the Way? with Lauryn Hill and Cee-lo. If Santana has contributed anything to Do You Like the Way?, it is overpowered by the often dominating Hill. Her powerful voice and one-of-a-kind style seem odd combined with the Spanish percussion (which made use of surround sound capabilities), but it is a likable addition -- one that will interest those who are not regular Santana fans. Eagle-Eye Cherry's contribution to the album, Wishing It Was, can't be saved even by Eagle Eye's suave voice. The touching strands of El Farol is the last song worth mentioning.